For one of Wall Street's toniest law firms, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, a sexual discrimination lawsuit from a gay employee was just the start. The firm is now waging a far more diffuse battle in cyberspace, where a torrent of raw and at times harsh blogs about working life at the firm is threatening to stain its reputation.
The postings, mostly unverified accounts from anonymous posters, suggest workplace morale is awful. One anonymous blogger who claimed to be a former Sullivan & Cromwell employee said on The Wall Street Journal's law blog that he had "never worked with a bigger bunch of sycophants and cowards."
Companies around the world are quickly discovering that the popularity, reach and speed of the Internet has turned what used to be a private affair -- complaining about work with a few colleagues over a beer -- into a very public affair. Like their global counterparts, Canadian companies are scrambling to come up with policies to address the digital ramblings.
"Blogs are becoming more mainstream and employers are having to take note of them," said Michael Fitzgibbon, a partner with the labour and employment group at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP in Toronto. "Whether the employer knows it or not, at least some of their workers have a blog. So, they are starting to wonder what they can do about it."
A few have begun to pay notice:
Royal Bank of Canada does not have a separate blogging policy, although employee codes instruct workers not to tarnish the bank's image and reputation in an online forum. Its corporate disclosure policy bars employees from joining Internet chat rooms or newsgroup discussions to discuss the actions of RBC or its securities.
International Business Machines Corp. was among the first to establish official internal blogging guidelines. Written in 2005, they call on IBM staff to clearly identify themselves when blogging about the company or company-related matters; to make it clear that the views are their own and not IBM's; to respect copyright, fair use and financial disclosure laws; to refrain from providing confidential or proprietary information; and to correct their mistakes.
Smaller firms are getting in on the act. Farm Boy, an Ottawa grocery chain, recently fired a number of employees for posting comments about the company and its customers. The event has its own word -- "dooced" -- to describe employees who get canned because of something said in a weblog.
Mr. Fitzgibbon says that even without a specific policy, workers can be held accountable for disparaging cyberspace comments. "I would say that if what you are writing on the blog is negatively impacting your employer, you are putting your employment at risk." But he acknowledges that the anonymous nature of blogging will make it difficult to trace.
Although blogging has been around for years, there is no consensus about how to integrate it into the workplace, says Darren Meister, an associate professor of information systems at the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. "Firms are still struggling to get a handle on this."
Mr. Meister says that, while revelations about the inner workings of a company might not be illegal, they can "violate the social contract you have with your employer and your colleagues."
The anonymous, self-described lawyers blogging about Sullivan & Cromwell were not revealing trade secrets, but claimed to provide a negative view of workplace morale. In a complaint filed this month with a New York court, associate Aaron Brett Charney accuses eight Sullivan & Cromwell lawyers of systematic discrimination and a campaign of retaliation based on his sexual orientation. The firm said it "categorically denies Mr. Charney's allegations of discrimination and retaliation." The allegations have not been proved in court.
In an ideal world, companies would want to be discussed on the Internet if it were to generate some favourable buzz.
"If you a have a positive corporate culture and it is a good place for employees to work, then there will be positive things about your firm online," said Andrea Wojnicki, assistant professor of marketing at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. On the other hand, "marketers and managers that have something to hide -- or that ignore cries for improvement -- may see the demise of their brand or their firm."
She believes that bloggers who lie about a great firm will be quickly discovered. "The other employees would pretty quickly step in and come to the rescue."
She advises companies and managers to participate openly in online discussions with customers, employees, shareholders and media, acknowledging both the compliments and criticisms. She cited Bob Lutz, chairman of beleaguered General Motors Corp., who participates regularly on a company blog called Fast Lane, an effort that has proved hugely popular.
Bruce MacLellan, president of Environics Communications in Toronto, says that "transparency in the corporate workplace has gone through the roof," which could prove to be a positive influence for corporate behaviour. "With blogging, the stakes have become so high that there is even more pressure to do the right thing.
"This is where companies are just going to have to recognize a whole new level of accountability," he said, adding that "those who act honourably will be recognized and those who don't will suffer."
He believes companies should monitor blogging so that they know what is being said about them, map out important sites, designate a senior employee who can post responses on behalf of the company, and establish official corporate blogging guidelines.
"You can't keep corporate culture behind a curtain any more," Mr. MacLellan said. "The Internet has opened that curtain."
